CHARLOTTE – He didn’t have the best numbers of his career, but Marquise Williams got the homecoming victory he wanted Saturday in North Carolina’s 39-17 Belk Bowl win over Cincinnati.

“It was a great homecoming,” said Williams, a longtime Shelby resident who graduated from Charlotte’s Mallard Creek High School in 2011. “It was great to get a win for our seniors and we’ve got something to build on for next year.”

Williams rushed nine times for 46 yards and completed 19 of 33 passes for 171 yards and one touchdown as continued his second-half success at quarterback for the Tar Heels’ this season.

“Marquise, he didn’t play his best game,” North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. “He would tell you that. But he did enough to win the football game.”

Record-setting Switzer: When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, he tied five other collegians for punt return TDs in a season with five – and the third to do so from the state of North Carolina.

Switzer’s five TD punt returns came in the second half of the UNC season – one against Virginia, two against Pittsburgh, one against Old Dominion and the one against Cincinnati.

Coupled with his three receptions for 22 yards, Switzer was named Jerry Richardson MVP for the contest.

Given that Switzer was only the Tar Heels’ third-team return man in fall camp, it’s been quite a season for the freshman from Charleston, W.Va.

“I took that as a challenge to show them what I could do,” Switzer said of his starting the season as a backup. “Nothing really changed other than my attitude. This coaching staff brought me in here to be a playmaker and I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain” until the second half of the season.

UNC streak-snapper: Not only did the Tar Heels record their first Belk Bowl triumph after an 0-3 record in their previous postseason visits to Charlotte, but it was UNC’s second bowl victory in 12 years.

UNC defeated Tennessee 30-24 in double overtime in the 2010 Music City Bowl. Before that, the Tar Heels last win came in the 2001 Peach Bowl in Atlanta by a 16-10 score over an Auburn team ironically then-coached by current Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville.

Overcoming a loss: After setting a North Carolina school record with his 49th start, Tar Heels’ senior offensive tackle James Hurst was knocked out of the game in the first half with what was later diagnosed as a broken left fibula.

But the Tar Heels moved backup right tackle Nick Appel into Hurst’s spot on the line and a solid if not spectacular offensive effort.

Pass-rushing Heels: Knowing Cincinnati had three starting offensive linemen out of action, North Carolina pressured the Bearcats’ passing attack from the outset of Saturday’s game.

In the end, UNC recorded five sacks – including one by Gastonia’s Norkeithus Otis and one of them going for what proved to be a game-changing safety.

“They knew we were missing three starters,” Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville said. “And they came after us. Our quarterback didn’t set his feet because he didn’t have a chance to.”

Belk Bowl records: The Big East/American Athletic Conference finished its 12-year run with the Belk Bowl with a 5-6 overall record; Navy was sent to fulfill the Big East Conference’s spot in one of the seasons.

The ACC improved to 7-5 and will begin a six-year contract against teams from the Southeastern Conference next season in the Charlotte-based postseason game.

Saturday’s 45,211 attendance was the second-lowest in the bowl’s history; Only the 41,122 who attended South Florida’s victory over Clemson was lower.

You can reach Richard Walker at 704-869-1841 or by twitter.com/JRWalk22